A U.S. national who was found murdered in his home in the San Sebastian neighborhood of this capital city of Yucatán had been involved in a consensual sexual relationship with his killers, according to authorities. The five men may have sold their services to him.
The admissions came yesterday (May 25) when four of the suspects in the murder case made formal statements before state judicial authorities. The statements, known in this country as declarations, are compulsory under Mexican criminal law, where there is no legal privilege against self-incrimination.
All of the men remain in custody, with no right to bail.
Robert Leon Wickard, 67 and a native of Pennsylvania, was found murdered in his two story residence just blocks southwest of the city's main plaza. His decaying corpse was wrapped in a blanket and buried in a shallow grave in an interior garden. Forensic experts believe he had been dead for about 15 days. The men were living in the house, pawning off his possessions. Reporters on the scene said yesterday that an overpowering stench of death was obvious even on the street. Neighbors, who said they had not seen Wicard for about two weeks, had not contacted police. The gruesome discovery was made during a routine police patrol about 4:00 a.m. Friday morning.
All four defendants admitted in court yesterday that they lived with Wicard in a consensual sexual relationship, together with a fifth Mexican man. But Wicard became upset over the number of people in his house and wanted the four to move. When an argument erupted, one of the men seized Wicard by the neck while another stabbed him repeatedly. The men then buried him in the garden. The fifth suspect is at liberty, but authorities have issued a warrant for his arrest.
A Yucatán newspaper reported in this morning's edition that the "coming and going of young homosexuals" at Wicard's residence was continual. It did not state a source for the claim. Wicard was described as a "pensioner who lived comfortably." He had resided in the house about a year, said neighbors, but they knew almost nothing about him.
Homophobia in Mérida?
Mérida, long regarded as a haven for gays from Canada and the United States, has experienced an increase in violence against members of the homosexual community in recent months. Those attacks generally have involved Mexicans, however, and have often occurred during paid sexual encounters with male prostitutes. The metro area abounds with such "sex servants," as they're called here, many of whom will sell an hour or two of private companionship for a handful of pesos.
Some maintain that Mérida's increasing popularity with expatriates is due in part to its reputation as a gay-friendly destination. Others allege that foreign gays are attracted to the area by the steady supply of cheap and often much younger Mexican males who are readily disposed to same-sex encounters, frequently because they have no other means of earning a living. Unemployment is high in this yet very rural state, where government statistics show that 48% of the population subsist in the most dire poverty. The brutal murder of U.S. citizen Leo Wicard is likely to renew the debate: do gay foreigners, many of whom live like royalty compared to local citizens, exploit vulnerable Mexican youth?
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Well, that was a big leap at the end. I thought that stereotype went out years ago.
ReplyDeleteActually, the fact of the matter is that because Merida is so indifferent/tolerant of homosexuals, it attracts many older American and Canadian gay men who can't get laid in their own countries ... These so-called "trolls" prey on Merida's gay community by enticing young Mexican gay men to do things for money they would not otherwise do. Villa Azul, which was run by two American pimps from Houston, billed itself as a house of pleasure, and it arranged for all kinds of sex tourism activities. Sometimes, however, as was the case in the US, things go wrong with "rough trade." All you have to do is go to the police station and look up reports: Lots of "crimes" involving foreigner who hire locals for gay S&M activities that get out of hand ...
ReplyDeleteActually, the biggest drawback of Merida Cancun and Playa are the gays.
ReplyDelete